Carpet-stretcher



(No Model.)

B.HOLDEN.

CARPET STRE-TGHER.

No. 395,903. Patented Jan 8, 1889. I

.Slaswvik.

UNITED STATES PATENT .OEEIcE.

BURTOh HOLDEN, OF GENEVA, OHIO.

CARPET-STRETCHER.

SPECEFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 395,903, dated January 8, 1889.

Application filed January 5, 1888. Serial No. 260,012. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BURTON HOLDEN, a citizen ot' the United States, residing at the village of Geneva, in the county of Ashtabula and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Carpet-Stretcher, (entitled and known as I'loldcns Double-Action Carpet-Stretcher) of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in cai'pet-stretchers; and it consists of the novel construction and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The object of my invention is to provide a carpet-stretcher of extremely simple, compact, and inexpensive construction which can be easily and quickly operated with a minimum exertion t'or thoroughlystretching the carpet without danger or liability of injuring the same.

A Further object of my invention is to so 3 construct and arrange the parts of my iini proved carpet-stretcher that the strain of the i carpet on the claws when in use will be in a direct line through the pivots ot' the jaws and lever, so as to cl'l'ectua-lly lock the lever and jaws in place when the lever isdeprcssed in one position, whereby the operator is relieved from the labor of holding the lever to keep the carpet stretchml and can proceed at leisure to properly adjust and tack. the loose "Each claw hasa broad head, e, which is t'oldsot' carpet in rearot the elaws,both hands of the operator being free to accomplish this operation.

The lever is also locked when it is reversed, so as to advance one and with- 1 draw the other claw, as will be hereinafter more t'ull y pointed out.

temporarily fixed to the tloor to hold the stretcher stationary when the lever is operated for moving the jaws to strain and hold a carpet. This bar is provided at one end with a downwardly-projecting tooth or spur, a, which is adapted to be forced into the floor at or near one of the vertical walls of the room or apartment to hold the bar against endwise displacement. An operating-lever, B, is pivoted at an intermediate point of its length to the unconfined or free end of the fulcrumbar, as at 1), thereby leaving a short arm, 1), extending below said bar and a longer arm, b extending above the bar, as clearly shown, the extreme upper end of the lever being provided with a handle, by means of which it can be conveniently grasped.

C D designate the claws of my improved stretcher, which are connected to the operating-lever in a peculiar manner, and are adapted to be operated thereby to alternately engage and strain the carpet, one claw, when free from engagement with the carpet, being moved in the reverse direction to the line of movement of the other engaging-claw, whereby as one claw draws upon and strains the carpet the other claw is adjusted simultaneously, but in the reverse direct-ion, to engage the carpet at a point some distance beyond the point that the first-mentioned claw is engaged with the carpet, as is obvious.

formed by a fiat-toothed bar, which is rigidly connected to bifurcated arms or shanks f, that are on rved down wardl y upon themselves, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and which are 1 made integral with a tlat bar, 1" The fiat In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is j a side elevation of my improved carpetstretcher, showing the lever and claws locked in one position after straining the carpet. Fig. 2 is a like view of the stretcher atter the lever has been turned to reverse the jaws, and showing said parts locked in the reverse of the positions indicated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the stretcher with the parts in the position indicated in Fig. 1.

Like letters of reference indicate corre-,

sponding parts in all the. figures ot' the drawings, in which head e of each claw has teeth g, which are inclined downwardly and rearwardly from the curved shanksf of the claw toward the fulcrumed bar to adapt said teeth to slide freely over the carpet when the claw is moved forward to engage the carpet and to firmly take into and grasp the same when drawn rearward by the lever to thereby properly stretch the carpet. The free ends of the flat bars f of the claws C D are pivotally connected, as at h 1', respectively, to the operating-lever B at. points equidistant from and on A designates the fulcrum-bar, adapted to be 1 opposite sides of the fulcrum of said bar, as clearly vindicated in Figs. 1 and 2, whereby when the lever is turned the jaws are moved simultaneously in opposite direetions.

The lever A is arranged at one side ol' the I t'ront; end of the l'ulerunlda'ug so as to fold elosely to one side ol' the same, and the bars f ot the elaws are arranged on the outersit'le ol' the lever, immediatelyoneabove the other, in the same vertieal plane, so ast'o movebaek and l'orth in the direetion ol' their length. without interl'eremw t'rom the lever ort he t'ulerum-bar.

lly reterenee to Fig. 1 ol:' the drawings it will he noted that when the lever is (leprtssta'l to lie alongside ol thetulerum barthe trtmtelaw, whieh is eonueeted to the lever at a point above its lulerum, will be drawn rearward and marry the earpet a limited distanee with it, while at: the same time t he rearelaw, l), whieh is eonneeted to the lever below its lulerum,

will be t'oreml in the reverse direetion and to l the rear, whereby it is adjusted in position to engage and strain the earpet when the lever is reversed. When the lever and elaws are 'in the position indicated in Fig. l, the pivots ot the lever and the claws lie in a direetline drawn from the point ol' engagement of the trout elaw, L, with the earpet through the lever, as indieated by the dotted line .r in Fig. it of the drawings, thus elleetuallv loeking the parts in position and preventing the lever i from beeomiug displaeed or moved b the strain or pull ot' the earpet on said elaw( and the lever when the hand-pressure is removed from the latter. the stretti-her in position both hands ol' the operator are left tree, and the loose folds of earpet in rear ot the elaws ean he properly adjusted and taeked at leisure.

Should it be neeessz'iry to l'urther strain or streteh the earpet after the lever has been depressed to the position shown in l ig. l,the free end ol' the lever is raised in the direetitm ot' the arrow in l ig. L to movethe lree end of the lever to a point beyond the outer end ol' the bar A. (See Fig. 2.) 'lhis reverse movement ol the lever draws the rear elaw, l), whieh engages the earpet, toward the lulerune bar, thereby t'urt her st retelling t he earpetgant l simultaneously with this retrograde movement ol the rear elaw the other l'ront' elaw, is loz'eet'l t'orw.-trd and rides idl v over the earpet. 'lhe position of the elaws and lever when adjusted as deseribed is shown in Fig. 2, and it will be noted that the lever is prevented from movement or displaeement,

eaused by the strain of the earpet on the rear l elaw, l), and the lower end of said lever, by reason ol the teeth of the trout elaw, t, enl gaging the earpet in position to strain the same should the lever be moved on its l'ull erum when it oeeupies this position. I

ll v thus lewking the parts olf l The operation of my invention is obvious l from the foregoing deseription taken in eonneetion with the drawings.

My improved earpet-streteher ean he used with a minimum effort to expeditiously and thoroughly strain the carpet to any desired extent, as the elawsare adapted to alternately engage the earpet by simply reversing thelevex-,aud said elaws are further loeked in either position when the lever is de n'essed one side or the other ol' its l'ulerum, as will be readily understood.

l I am aware ol the deviee shown in Patent: 1 No. fh'ithtli", in whieh a pair ol' jaws are pivoted together, one ol' the jaws having an exl tended vertieal handle or lever seeured thereto, and said jaw is pivoted at an intermediate point ol"its length to a horizontally l movable l'ulerum-har, whieh latter baris pivot'ed at its rear uneonlined end to a vertical bar inserted in the lloor, this movable l'ulerum-bar being sustained in a horizontal position h a pivoted pawl engaging notches on the vertieal bar, and the two jaws being arranged to foree orpush the earpet toward the edge ol the ttoor.

Having thus deseribed m v invention, what l (-laim as new, and desire to seeure by Letters lateut, is-- V]. A earpet-stretehereonsisting, essent iall v, ol. a horizontal tulerlun-barhaving a tlOptlltliug tooth or spur t'or insertion into the floor to hold said bar in a fixed position, a lever pivoted at an intm'mediate point ott' its length to the horizontal l'ulerlun-bar, and the oppoi sitel v-inovahle toothed (laws pivoted to the lever at etplidistant points on op 'losile sides ol' the l'nlerum ol' the lever, substantially as deserihed, tor the purpose set forth.

t ng, essentially, lot a l'ulernm-lmr provided with means for fixing the same in a statiom'u'y position to a lloor, a hand-leverpivoted at an 'interniwfliat'e point of its length to the lulerum-lntr and i adapted to told elose thereto, and the oppol sitel vmovable elaws pivotevtl to the lever at equidistaut points on opposite sides 01: the lulerulu thereol', the pivots of said elaws and the lulerum ol' the lever being relatively lo eat ed with respeet to each other to all fall in a line drawn through the lever and the point of engagement with the earpet of one of the elaws when said lever is depressed alongside the fulcrum-bar, substantially as deserihed.

HUR'JUN l'lULDEVN.

llO 

